Death's Companion
by Lorraine salvatore
Summary: Harry is left alone after the end of the war save for Death who refuses to part with its new master. Unfortunatly, Harry doesn't want to live anymore so when he eventually does try to commit suicide, Death whisks him away to another universe in order to keep him alive. This universe happens to have superheros and Demi-gods. (Pairings up for debate right now...along with bad title)
1. Chapter 1

((So…this is a prologue to the story I'm thinking of writing...I'm not sure if I'll continue it though, so I'd love some feedback if you think I should This is set post-avengers and after 7th year in case you wanted to know beforehand. As of right now, I haven't decided a pairing, but I'd gladly accept any suggestions; the pairing doesn't have to involve Harry either. I hope you enjoy the story! Reviews and critics are welcome!))

The dark-haired man balances carefully on the edge of the building, his foot moving slowly in front of the other as he takes another step forward. His hands outstretch in front of his body, his palms facing outwards as if to embrace an invisible figure as he takes yet another step forward. Across from the man stood a lean figure, its presence undetectable to those walking on the sidewalk below, faceless and cloaked in black. Despite the figure's unnatural appearance, the man doesn't seem startled or fazed at all; he continues walking forward with open arms. It was when the man stood within arm's reach that the cloaked figure actually spoke, distracting the man from the small crowd gathering below.

"You have been expecting me…" Its voice is surprisingly smooth, like satin against the man's skin as every word seem to wrap around his body. Briefly, the man's green eyes flash with a hint of curiosity, unnoticeable behind the reflection of his wire-framed glasses. What he was curious about was unmentioned and pointless to contemplate in the figure's mind, and so without much thought it continues to speak. Neither of them notice the uneasy crowd that is beginning to grow in size with every passing moment, the civilians' eyes all resting nervously on the young man standing just on the edge, literally.

"I'm actually surprised it took you this long." If the figure had a mouth he might have smiled at the man's comment, but he didn't which left it with the option to smile to itself. Below, the crowd began to stir and murmur; 'was the boy crazy?' In a sweeping motion, the figure was inches away from the man's face, its dark cloak flowing around them like an endless river of ink. There was no visible reaction from the man save for the slight twitch of his lips that gave the creature the impression the man was trying not to smile. Smiling in the face of Death was one thing the man was not eager to do.

"My apologies, Master." Death's voice sounds like a purr now, oddly sensual for a being without any physical attributes save for a head with no face and a body that was completely skeletal. Once again, the man is completely unfazed by the figure; his only response was a barely noticeable smile.

"I prefer Harry, you know that." The young man's voice turns light and teasing, far too carefree for the serious situation he had gotten into. The sound of people shouting from far below reaches Harry's ears, causing his concentration on Death to slip slightly as his gaze flickers downwards for a moment. Death, too, looks down at the people panicking below; it finds their worry mildly entertaining. They both continue to gaze at the ignorant crowd, sharing a brief moment of understanding.

"They are afraid you will jump, Harry…" A light laugh escapes the man's lips, void of any hint of humor as his green eyes rest heavily on the sidewalk just in front of a rather fat looking man's feet. Slowly, his gaze slides over to Death as if to ask him, 'should they be?' In his pocket the elder wand hums, almost as if Death was telling him, 'yes, yes they should be.' Conversations like these make the British man wonder when he had grown this close to Death…When had silent conversations become the norm between them? Almost automatically, the cloak tightens around him, urging him back and away from the edge of the building; 'they' were not worried, Death was.

"Are you afraid?" The question does not visibly startle the figure, but Harry notes that the cloak had unconsciously tightened around him at his words. He imagines, with a small amount of fondness, that if Death had a face it would be scowling now, a scowl that would make his eyes dark and his face far too old. As if to solidify his thought, Harry glances at Death's smooth face with a curious expression only to feel an unnecessary amount of disappointment when it could not look back.

"I have nothing to fear, Master." There is a long silence between them now and with a long sigh, Harry lowers his hands to push Death's cloak away from his skin. After the cloak was off his body, he raises his hands back up to hesitantly rest his palms on either side of the creature's jaw. This time the figure does appear startled at the unexpected touch, just as the people below were when Harry began to cup thin air.

"I have never requested anything from you…" Harry pauses for a moment before continuing, "…now I must ask that you do one favor for me; I want you to let me jump." For a moment, Death looks ready to protest every word that he'd spoken only to change his mind before the words could form. Taking his chance, Harry releases its face to take one large step backwards; a step right off the edge. The air is whipping against his body as he fell, his glasses falling away from him to make the world appear as an even bigger blur than it already was. He can barely see the dark figure falling after him, Death's body hovering over him throughout the entirety of the fall as the cement grows closer and closer. There was a brief moment when Harry wonders if this was cruel, making his last companion watch him take his own life like this but the impact of his skull against the ground quickly ends that train of thought. Death doesn't even think about it before it's taking the soul of every bystander that had witnessed Harry's death, his cloak expanding out to cover the fallen man's body protectively as it continues tearing though the body of a middle-aged woman with claws drawn.

It was minutes later that Death was scooping Harry's broken body against his chest, disappearing in a large cloud of black smoke before reappearing in an empty lab. Immediately, the lab's security is blaring loudly at the intrusion and Death sets Harry's body on the floor with reluctance.

"Sir, there is an intruder in the tower." An English man's voice sounds from seemingly nowhere, the doors of the lab locking with a loud click as the AI's owner begins heading down from the living room with two assassins, a scientist, a demi-god, and a super-soldier on his heels.

"Forgive me; I cannot allow you to die, Harry."

((Thank you for reading.))


	2. Chapter 2

((Oh my god, you guys! All of you rock; 22 reviews already! Thank you all so much for reading, following, favoriting, or reviewing my story I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint.))

The scientist watches the young man's comatose form with tired brown eyes, absentmindedly tugging his sleeves up farther from his elbow as he shifts in his seat uncomfortably. Around him the sterile white walls feel far too close together and the man contemplates getting up from his seat to take a break from the slightly stressful environment. However, he doesn't do much more than contemplate leaving simply because he knew if the stranger was left alone he'd be gone before he could arrive back…and that was a risk he wasn't willing to take at the moment. A few more minutes pass before a light knock on the doorframe diverts the scientist's attention away from the patient, his eyes resting heavily on the brunette standing in the doorway.

"Tony…" Bruce says warningly, the stress in his voice obvious to the other man. In response, Tony raises his hands up in front of his chest with palms facing Bruce. The gesture was one of peace, although a rather sarcastic one when it came from the billionaire. There's a short moment when the two men share a long stare, Bruce's eyes much more wary than the questioning gaze on Tony's face is.

"I just came down to check on the Midget." A smile tugs up the corners of Bruce's lips at the nickname Tony had given their 'guest' and with a small roll of his eyes as pats the empty chair beside him. Truthfully, Bruce knows there was another reason the other man had bothered journeying to the hospital when he could be back in the lab; he was worried about the Other Guy. He doesn't have a chance to call Tony out on that though, because the playboy was already opening his mouth to speak.

"You don't need to act as the kid's personal guard all night; he'll be fine by himself for awhile," Tony says, his eyes land briefly on the Harry's limp body, taking in the tubes and restraints attached to him with slightly narrowed-eyes. For a moment, he questions if he even believes his own words, the very same ones he was feeding Bruce; Tony doesn't think he does. Bruce doesn't seem entirely convinced either, pushing his glasses back up his nose as he avoids looking directly at Tony.

"I don't have any other choice; you know that." Oh, Tony definitely knows. That didn't mean he had to like the almost motherly instinct that had taken over Bruce the minute they had come across the barely breathing man in the lab. He understood though; he knew about Bruce's past with scientists who were far too curious and cold, and he knew Bruce wouldn't let anyone get their hands on the young man that had been able to bring himself back to life; even Shield.

"Yeah…I know." A small sigh escapes Bruce's mouth, his head tilting slightly as he glances at Tony out of the corner of his eye. Tony pretends to ignore the look, acting as if his attention was still on the nameless man lying in bed. It was odd to have Tony act so silent around him, and Bruce honestly couldn't understand what would make him act so reserved when it was only the two of them. He accepts the silence though, knowing neither of them was really in any mood to talk. The silence lasts for a moment as the two men sit in comfortable silence together. After what felt like a few hours to Tony, the previously unconscious man stirs slightly, his fingers twitching as his eyes visibly move beneath his eyelids.

"He's waking up…" Bruce's voice holds hints of excitement, and he gets up from his seat to cautiously walk over to the side of the bed. Although he couldn't see it, a dark figure stood beside him with its hands grasping onto Harry's gently. Death, which had been there the whole time, turns its head slightly to acknowledge Bruce with a small amount of resentment. Neither Tony nor Bruce actually saw the figure though and had no idea there was anything else in the room, the only hint being a subtle drop in temperature.

Harry's eyes slowly flutter open, wincing slightly when the fluorescent lighting above him renders him blind for a moment. He lays there for a moment trying to figure out where he was, turning his head to the side a fraction to glance over at Death with wide-eyes. The man can't speak and he finally notices the tube down his throat, choking around the plastic when he tries parting his lips to form words. When a pair of hands begin to gentle push him further into the bed, Harry realizes Death wasn't the only figure in the room and finds himself unable to resist the temptation to just fall back asleep. And as he did when it came to most temptations these days, Harry succumbed to it fully without a second thought.

"I'm impressed he was even able to wake up at all," Tony comments, watching both Bruce and Harry with mild caution. Bruce nods his head in agreement, watching the younger man's face for any signs that he would be waking up any time soon. Beside him, Death rests his fingers over Harry's mouth lightly to keep him from making a noise are awakening once more, not ready to face his Master's anger when he would eventually wake up for good. It waits a few more seconds before disappearing silently, leaving rush of cold air in the room. Bruce opens his mouth to say something but grows silent, staring past Tony to the figure standing in the doorway.

"Director Fury…"

"I believe you have some explaining to do, Banner."

((Review, thank you.))


	3. Chapter 3

((Holy crap you guys are freaking amazing! Almost eighty reviews and more than four hundred follows already! Thank you, please review 3 ))

From across the room, Bruce can feel Director Fury's gaze resting heavily on him making it feel as if an invisible weight was being slowly placed on his head. It was an uncomfortable feeling, and the scientist does his best to stay focused on the matter at hand rather than on his own discomfort. However, it was beginning to grow difficult to ignore the way his hands were slowly clenching into tight fists against his thighs as the silence in the room continues to expand around them, making his stress obvious to anyone who could read simple body language. Thankfully, Nick Fury was one of those people and he wisely chose to speak before Bruce's stress could begin escalating further.

"Doctor Banner…I believe you know why you're here." The Director's voice left no room for an excuse or protest of any sort, which was good since Bruce wasn't planning to make either. That did not mean, however, that Bruce was going to just listen to Fury's orders as he had so helpfully done before. Director Fury seems to know what the scientist had been thinking; his one good eye narrowing as he rests is hands on the tabletop while leaning forward to trap Bruce under watchful gaze.

"This is when you're expected to speak, Banner." A small grin pulls up the corners of Bruce's lips, the expression on his face anything but happy though; it's said that if you smile long enough you can trick your brain into thinking you're happy. Slowly, Bruce pushes his glasses farther up the bridge of his nose before opening his mouth to respond to the other man's previous words.

"I'm not allowed a vacation?" Bruce asks, his eyebrows rising slightly as he looks at Fury. His response only seems to frustrate the Director, obviously knowing Bruce hadn't been on vacation at all. The scientist assumes the only reason Fury had not tried pushing him further was because of the Hulk, but he still was hesitant to push Fury's boundaries.

"No, you're not when you happen to be an Avenger!" Fury replies, his voice growing in volume at Bruce's insistence to avoid answering his question honestly. "Especially when you're a walking liability with a temper." He rolls his eyes in response, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he glances past Fury's head for a moment.

"I'm completely under control and you know that."

"That's why you've decided it was alright to disappear, because you're in control? It took us a month to find you, Banner." Briefly, Bruce wonders how they found him in the first place; Tony himself had taken the time to keep his location a secret from Fury. The only option was that someone in the team told him, but the people who were actually told were all rather trustworthy.

"How did you find me?" Bruce's question makes Fury grin despite himself, making Bruce scowl slightly at the pleased expression on his face. He didn't bother trying to guess who told, simply because he knew Fury was going to tell him anyway.

"Captain Rogers thought it was in our best interest to know." Ah, Steve. He could understand that…although he didn't like it.

"So what now? Are you going to lock me up, so I can't leave again?" Fury shakes his head, earning a slightly confused look from Bruce.

"No, you're going to tell us exactly who was in that hospital bed." From the shadows, Death stood silently watching the two men converse over his Master; Bruce was unknowingly winning back Death's favor, which was surprising since it once had quite a grudge on the seemingly immortal man. Before Bruce can open his mouth to tell Fury he didn't know who the man was exactly, the figure standing behind Fury makes him freeze in shock. It was in that moment that Bruce actually saw Death, unable to comprehend what he saw before Death left the room in wisp of smoke.

((Sorry for the shorter chapter though.))s


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